Yup, today was the day that I reached the 30 pound mark, which moved my BMI below 30 pts. (albeit very slightly at 29.9). So, now, I'm not obese--just fat! :-)
Very exciting!
To celebrate, I took all of my clothes out of the closet to filter out the ones that no longer fit. I ended up with two trash bags worth of clothes to take to Goodwill, three pieces that needed to be trashed, and three pairs of shoes that need to be thrown away. My rule was that if it fit me right now, I kept it, regardless of the season. So I kept a handful of sweaters that probably won't fit in the fall, but I didn't want to throw them away just yet. I figure that in the fall, I'll have to do all this again and then I can trash those then. (Yes, I'm probably insane.)
Three things were particularly clear to me:
1. Most of the weight I've lost has been in the lower half of my body because I pretty much threw away all of my pants save the ones I've recently bought and one pair of capris that are probably a little loose now, but are still OK.
2. The shirts I used to wear were way too tight. Some of them still fit me now, so I know they were way worse 3 months ago. Just because it looks OK in the dressing room when you suck in your stomach, doesn't mean it's acceptable for the real world. Kinda embarrassing, but oh well. Most of the shirts that I tossed were button down shirts that look like striped potato sacks! SAYONARA! :-)
3. I have a lot of App. stuff. (I had a pile of keep stuff, Goodwill stuff, and App. stuff--and the App. pile was just as big as the other piles.) I couldn't throw away any of that stuff even though I know that some of the hoodies are way too big. I will have to reevaluate those in the fall closer to football season. I'll probably end up needing all new stuff, but I'm not exactly sure yet because in the middle of football season you end up with a lot of layers. So I'm not sure if I'll be able to salvage any of that stuff--maybe I'll put them in a frame to commemorate the garb of 3 national championships.
Oh, and I did save one pair of size 18 black capris that I'll be able to use in my NutriSystem commercial along with my crappy before picture. :-)
And now that I've reached my 30 lb. goal, I can have my 30 lb. reward, which is to go to the Pennyrich Bra Patch and get fitted professionally and correctly for a new bra. I am very excited about this because I know that most women wear the wrong size bra and I want to know what it's actually like to have one that's correct:
http://www.newsobserver.com/105/story/545085.html
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Monday, April 20, 2009
Literacy Council of Wake County Road Rally - May 30
In case any of y'all are interested. I think Brian and I will participate (and totally rock it!).
http://www.wakeliteracy.org/content.php?cid=33ad0586-2140-9380-dfa8-47bb21b91464
Want to spend a fun filled day outside in beautiful weather solving riddles and driving through Wake County? Then come to the first annual Literacy Council of Wake County Road Rally! This is a great chance to test your trivia knowledge, explore places you have never been, and support the Literacy Council. The Road Rally will begin at 1pm on Saturday, May 30, 2009 at Hendrick’s Cary Auto Mall. Road Rally participants will follow clues that take them on a 60-80 mile journey through Wake County. Each team will need to find the answers to a set of questions that will ultimately direct them to a secret end location for a victory celebration! The car closest to the actual course mileage, with the most correct answers, wins! There is a tax deductible entry fee of $100 per car. Your entry fee will go to support literacy programs helping individuals in Wake County learn to read and write, helping both the community and the individual to thrive. Fill your car with friends, family and co-workers and see if you can be the first person to navigate the course, find the answers and win the Road Rally! For additional information or to register for the event, please contact Nora Casper at 919-787-5559 or ncasper@wakeliteracy.org. Come help make our first ever Road Rally a success!
http://www.wakeliteracy.org/content.php?cid=33ad0586-2140-9380-dfa8-47bb21b91464
Want to spend a fun filled day outside in beautiful weather solving riddles and driving through Wake County? Then come to the first annual Literacy Council of Wake County Road Rally! This is a great chance to test your trivia knowledge, explore places you have never been, and support the Literacy Council. The Road Rally will begin at 1pm on Saturday, May 30, 2009 at Hendrick’s Cary Auto Mall. Road Rally participants will follow clues that take them on a 60-80 mile journey through Wake County. Each team will need to find the answers to a set of questions that will ultimately direct them to a secret end location for a victory celebration! The car closest to the actual course mileage, with the most correct answers, wins! There is a tax deductible entry fee of $100 per car. Your entry fee will go to support literacy programs helping individuals in Wake County learn to read and write, helping both the community and the individual to thrive. Fill your car with friends, family and co-workers and see if you can be the first person to navigate the course, find the answers and win the Road Rally! For additional information or to register for the event, please contact Nora Casper at 919-787-5559 or ncasper@wakeliteracy.org. Come help make our first ever Road Rally a success!
Three months later...
Today is the start of week 13 for me, so it's time for my monthly photo and results:
Numbers
Weight: -26.8 lbs. (-13.11%)
Arms: -3.5 in. (-21.21%)
Chest: -3.25 in. (-8.23%)
Waist: -6.75 in. (-15.43%)
Hips: -4.5 in. (-10.23%)
Thighs: -3.5 in. (-13.73%)
BMI: -4.60 pts. (-13.11%)
My waist-to-hip ratio has gone from 99.43% to 93.67%. Still way too high, but definitely going in the right direction!
As you can see, things are continuing to progress nicely; however, I can definitely sense weight loss slowing down. It seems like my body will fluctuate around the same number for 4-5 days and then eventually lose ~0.8-1.2 lbs. and then repeat the cycle :-) However, I'm staying motivated and just happy that the trend is downward.
Unfortunately, I did not meet my tax day goal. I'm about 2.5 lbs. away from that goal, but that's OK. I'm still doing really, really well.
This past weekend, Gatsby and I went to my parents' house because Brian went to New Jersey for the Canes/Devils game. We had a really good time. On Friday night we went to Tsunami, which is an Asian food buffet (a good one! not a freaky, scary one--I'm really pretty anti-buffet). This one has fresh-made sushi and we sat right by the sushi chefs so we were able to pillage the fresh pieces as soon as they hit the buffet! Very yummy and super cheap.
On Saturday, mom, dad, Gatsby, and I met Callie at Fort Macon and we laid on the beach for a few hours. It was Gatsby's first trip to the sand and he did really well. He let the ocean get him a little wet on his paws and he had fun eating seaweed and watching all the people and other doggies. Saturday night, we went to El Zarape in Beaufort, which is most definitely not NS friendly, but still good.
Sunday, we did some shopping and I bought a new pair of running shoes, which are awesome. I got to walk across a little machine that measured my weight distribution of my feet and also showed how I move my feet when I walk (evidently, I turn my right foot in slightly). So the friendly guy helped me find the right shoe to counteract my slight turn-in and I have a very lovely pair now. Sunday night we went to Outback and all had salmon and fresh veggies before Gatsby and I had to head back home.
A very lovely weekend with fantastic weather!
Oh yeah, and mom and dad look incredible!! (Callie and Clay too!)
Oh, I almost forgot! On Friday, many of the people in Professional Publications went to the Habitat for Humanity house that my company financed. The house is almost done and we spent the day helping out with painting and landscaping. I stayed outside with the landscaping because the weather was awesome! We planted two trees, lots of bushes, and pushed around a lot of top soil and mulch. It was SO MUCH FUN. It's very exciting that the family who will be moving in next month is going from a 2 bedroom apartment (with 4 kids!) to a 4 bedroom house. The area is Durham is not fantastic, but evidently it's become so much better since Habitat started doing work out there. It used to be one of the worst neighborhoods for crime and drugs and now it's just a quiet, low income area. Evidently the Habitat houses really motivate current residents to improve their own abodes. If you ever have an opportunity to do a build day, I highly, highly recommend it. It's hard work, but incredibly fun and fulfilling. I also wasn't nearly as sore as I would have thought--evidently strength training and losing 26.8 lbs. makes a big difference! I can't wait to do another!
Start
End of week 4 (-14.8 lbs. total)
End of week 8 (-21 lbs. total)
End of week 4 (-14.8 lbs. total)
End of week 8 (-21 lbs. total)
End of week 12 (-26.8 lbs. total)
Numbers
Weight: -26.8 lbs. (-13.11%)
Arms: -3.5 in. (-21.21%)
Chest: -3.25 in. (-8.23%)
Waist: -6.75 in. (-15.43%)
Hips: -4.5 in. (-10.23%)
Thighs: -3.5 in. (-13.73%)
BMI: -4.60 pts. (-13.11%)
My waist-to-hip ratio has gone from 99.43% to 93.67%. Still way too high, but definitely going in the right direction!
As you can see, things are continuing to progress nicely; however, I can definitely sense weight loss slowing down. It seems like my body will fluctuate around the same number for 4-5 days and then eventually lose ~0.8-1.2 lbs. and then repeat the cycle :-) However, I'm staying motivated and just happy that the trend is downward.
Unfortunately, I did not meet my tax day goal. I'm about 2.5 lbs. away from that goal, but that's OK. I'm still doing really, really well.
It's really pretty rare that I have bad-for-me food cravings, but for some reason today at work I really, really wanted a Milky Way. Fortunately, there aren't any in the vending machine downstairs, so I ended up with one minuscule chocolate egg, which somewhat tempered craving. :-)
This past weekend, Gatsby and I went to my parents' house because Brian went to New Jersey for the Canes/Devils game. We had a really good time. On Friday night we went to Tsunami, which is an Asian food buffet (a good one! not a freaky, scary one--I'm really pretty anti-buffet). This one has fresh-made sushi and we sat right by the sushi chefs so we were able to pillage the fresh pieces as soon as they hit the buffet! Very yummy and super cheap.
On Saturday, mom, dad, Gatsby, and I met Callie at Fort Macon and we laid on the beach for a few hours. It was Gatsby's first trip to the sand and he did really well. He let the ocean get him a little wet on his paws and he had fun eating seaweed and watching all the people and other doggies. Saturday night, we went to El Zarape in Beaufort, which is most definitely not NS friendly, but still good.
Sunday, we did some shopping and I bought a new pair of running shoes, which are awesome. I got to walk across a little machine that measured my weight distribution of my feet and also showed how I move my feet when I walk (evidently, I turn my right foot in slightly). So the friendly guy helped me find the right shoe to counteract my slight turn-in and I have a very lovely pair now. Sunday night we went to Outback and all had salmon and fresh veggies before Gatsby and I had to head back home.
A very lovely weekend with fantastic weather!
Oh yeah, and mom and dad look incredible!! (Callie and Clay too!)
Oh, I almost forgot! On Friday, many of the people in Professional Publications went to the Habitat for Humanity house that my company financed. The house is almost done and we spent the day helping out with painting and landscaping. I stayed outside with the landscaping because the weather was awesome! We planted two trees, lots of bushes, and pushed around a lot of top soil and mulch. It was SO MUCH FUN. It's very exciting that the family who will be moving in next month is going from a 2 bedroom apartment (with 4 kids!) to a 4 bedroom house. The area is Durham is not fantastic, but evidently it's become so much better since Habitat started doing work out there. It used to be one of the worst neighborhoods for crime and drugs and now it's just a quiet, low income area. Evidently the Habitat houses really motivate current residents to improve their own abodes. If you ever have an opportunity to do a build day, I highly, highly recommend it. It's hard work, but incredibly fun and fulfilling. I also wasn't nearly as sore as I would have thought--evidently strength training and losing 26.8 lbs. makes a big difference! I can't wait to do another!
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Pretty colors, bp, jogging, meditation, and meat
I am very excited about my fruit selections this week and my pretty fruit bowl:
3 bananas, 3 apples, 3 pears, 2 oranges, 1 grapefruit, 1 tangelo, 1 mango, and 1 horned melon (I also got some blackberries, but they don't get to go in the fruit bowl...)
I also dragged poor Brian to Kohl's so that I could get a new bathing suit. After trying on many bathing suits, I ended up with this one and a cute brown coverup:
Gatsby and I are planning to go to the beach this coming weekend and Callie and I have already set up a date at Fort Macon for some sand action. Brian will most likely not be joining us because he's planning to head north to use his press credential to attend one of the Canes away-playoff-games in Newark.
Poor guy. I'm going to the beach and he's going to New Jersey. HA!
I tried something different with my workout today. I did my normal strength training stuff upstairs and then headed outside. I want to get to the point where I'm like a super jogger because I really like doing it, but I can't do it for too long at one time because my heart rate gets too high and it's not really worth dying for...
So, I decided that I would alternate between walking for 2 minutes and jogging for 2 minutes. And I did that for about 40 minutes and then walked for about 10 minutes after I finished. I probably wouldn't have normally walked for the extra 10 minutes (usually, more like 5), but I ended up about 10 minutes from the house and I had to get back home! :-) It was a very good workout. I decided on the 2 minute intervals because 2 minutes of walking usually brings my heart rate right to 60% of my max and I don't want to go below that during my workout. I know that I went at least 2.3 miles on the road (we measured that out by car), but I'm not sure about the part on the walking trail. I think the walking trail is probably 0.5-0.75 miles one way and I did the full length twice, so I'm thinking that I was probably at about 3.5 miles for the day.
And at least something is working because this was my weekly Teeter BP check:
OK, that was check #4. The first check was 121/69 and #2 and #3 were around 113/65.
I'm also being kinda new age and funky right now. I downloaded some meditation podcasts on my ipod and the one I've listened to so far (twice) is a meditation to use right before you go to sleep and it's incredible how well it works. I've had 2 nights of the best, deepest sleeps ever! If you're interested it's online at www.themeditationpodcast.com/download.php (and also on iTunes). The guy's voice is a little hokey, but it does work!
Also, once I get to my goal weight and stop with the NS food, I'm considering eliminating mammals from my diet (i.e. beef and pork). I've found that I really don't care that much for them and I know I can get protein from other good sources. I wouldn't go full vegetarian because I don't think I could do without fish (my beloved nigiri!) and I do really like chicken. I've just pretty much figured out that I do really well with restrictions and guidelines and I want to be able to continue all I'm doing now as a lifestyle change. I'd love to start it now, but I don't want to limit my NS entrees. I still need a little bit of choice! :-)
It could also just be that I've been in publishing too long.
3 bananas, 3 apples, 3 pears, 2 oranges, 1 grapefruit, 1 tangelo, 1 mango, and 1 horned melon (I also got some blackberries, but they don't get to go in the fruit bowl...)
I also dragged poor Brian to Kohl's so that I could get a new bathing suit. After trying on many bathing suits, I ended up with this one and a cute brown coverup:
Gatsby and I are planning to go to the beach this coming weekend and Callie and I have already set up a date at Fort Macon for some sand action. Brian will most likely not be joining us because he's planning to head north to use his press credential to attend one of the Canes away-playoff-games in Newark.
Poor guy. I'm going to the beach and he's going to New Jersey. HA!
I tried something different with my workout today. I did my normal strength training stuff upstairs and then headed outside. I want to get to the point where I'm like a super jogger because I really like doing it, but I can't do it for too long at one time because my heart rate gets too high and it's not really worth dying for...
So, I decided that I would alternate between walking for 2 minutes and jogging for 2 minutes. And I did that for about 40 minutes and then walked for about 10 minutes after I finished. I probably wouldn't have normally walked for the extra 10 minutes (usually, more like 5), but I ended up about 10 minutes from the house and I had to get back home! :-) It was a very good workout. I decided on the 2 minute intervals because 2 minutes of walking usually brings my heart rate right to 60% of my max and I don't want to go below that during my workout. I know that I went at least 2.3 miles on the road (we measured that out by car), but I'm not sure about the part on the walking trail. I think the walking trail is probably 0.5-0.75 miles one way and I did the full length twice, so I'm thinking that I was probably at about 3.5 miles for the day.
And at least something is working because this was my weekly Teeter BP check:
OK, that was check #4. The first check was 121/69 and #2 and #3 were around 113/65.
I'm also being kinda new age and funky right now. I downloaded some meditation podcasts on my ipod and the one I've listened to so far (twice) is a meditation to use right before you go to sleep and it's incredible how well it works. I've had 2 nights of the best, deepest sleeps ever! If you're interested it's online at www.themeditationpodcast.com/download.php (and also on iTunes). The guy's voice is a little hokey, but it does work!
Also, once I get to my goal weight and stop with the NS food, I'm considering eliminating mammals from my diet (i.e. beef and pork). I've found that I really don't care that much for them and I know I can get protein from other good sources. I wouldn't go full vegetarian because I don't think I could do without fish (my beloved nigiri!) and I do really like chicken. I've just pretty much figured out that I do really well with restrictions and guidelines and I want to be able to continue all I'm doing now as a lifestyle change. I'd love to start it now, but I don't want to limit my NS entrees. I still need a little bit of choice! :-)
It could also just be that I've been in publishing too long.
Friday, April 10, 2009
A picture is worth a thousand words...
Via text message
From: Callie
~~ at dinner ~~
To: Callie
From: Laura
Ahhh....sisterly love! ;-)
(I think we both won!)
~~ sometime this afternoon ~~
To: LauraFrom: Callie
~~ at dinner ~~
To: Callie
From: Laura
Ahhh....sisterly love! ;-)
(I think we both won!)
Monday, April 6, 2009
Gatsby's Accomodations During the Wedding
So, we weren't sure what we were going to do with Gatsby while we were at Callie's wedding. We thought about finding a hotel that allows pets, but we didn't want him to be miserably bored on Saturday night and all day Sunday, so we decided that we're going to board him. (This will most likely be tougher on me and Brian than Gatsby...)
So, because we don't have any kids and pretty much love to spoil our doggie, he will be staying in a suite at Suite Paws, which is right down the road from our house. In case you were curious, for the (not too terrible) price of $36/night, young Gatsby LeBlanc will have a private room with a bed and fleece covers and a TV and DVD player that plays special features targeted to doggie interests. Brian and I will also be able to check in on him because his room will have a webcam and he'll have 2 outside play times per day.
We also can pick extra services if we'd like:
SERVICE
Pick Up & Delivery One way / round trip, charge based on distance
Bone Phone Speakerphone chat w/webcam viewing $8/each
Bottled Drinking Water $3/per day
Peanut Butter Kong $3.50/each
Frozen Dog Treats $3.50/each
Extra Outside Time 15 minutes during requested time of day $5
1-on-1 playtime w/ staff 15 minutes - Frisbee or ball chase $7
Cuddle Time 10 minutes $6
Hair Brushing 10 minutes $6
Belly Rub 10 minutes $6
Attend all day daycare Temperament test required $15
Attend half day daycare Temperament test required $10
Email Picture to Mom/Dad $1/email
Exit Bath Minimum 1 night stay $15-$40 depending on hair and dog size
Minimum 7 night stay
http://www.suitepaws.com/SP_Brochure.pdf
Brian and I will be at the Hampton Inn.
So, because we don't have any kids and pretty much love to spoil our doggie, he will be staying in a suite at Suite Paws, which is right down the road from our house. In case you were curious, for the (not too terrible) price of $36/night, young Gatsby LeBlanc will have a private room with a bed and fleece covers and a TV and DVD player that plays special features targeted to doggie interests. Brian and I will also be able to check in on him because his room will have a webcam and he'll have 2 outside play times per day.
We also can pick extra services if we'd like:
SERVICE
Pick Up & Delivery One way / round trip, charge based on distance
Bone Phone Speakerphone chat w/webcam viewing $8/each
Bottled Drinking Water $3/per day
Peanut Butter Kong $3.50/each
Frozen Dog Treats $3.50/each
Extra Outside Time 15 minutes during requested time of day $5
1-on-1 playtime w/ staff 15 minutes - Frisbee or ball chase $7
Cuddle Time 10 minutes $6
Hair Brushing 10 minutes $6
Belly Rub 10 minutes $6
Attend all day daycare Temperament test required $15
Attend half day daycare Temperament test required $10
Email Picture to Mom/Dad $1/email
Exit Bath Minimum 1 night stay $15-$40 depending on hair and dog size
Minimum 7 night stay
http://www.suitepaws.com/SP_Brochure.pdf
Brian and I will be at the Hampton Inn.
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Shoes, workout, and nasty dinner
I've finally found my shoes for Callie's wedding! (Thank goodness!) I've been searching online for probably 2 months and I haven't been able to find anything that I liked. We decided that they needed to be gold because the dress is "truffle." I don't think I've posted a picture of the dress, so here it is:
I didn't post a picture of me in the dress because, well, I don't want anyone other than family to see it before the wedding (yes, I know I'm not the bride!).
So, the wedding party consists of Callie and Clay (obviously), Callie's good friend Melissa, moi, Clay's good friend Jonathan (who is Melissa's boyfriend), and Brian. Well, Callie, Clay, Jonathan, and Brian are all tall. Melissa and me, not so much. So, I don't want to look like a midget and opted for heels. And, voila:
They are bangin' hot!!!!! I love them and, surprisingly, they're quite comfortable. They must fit my arch just right or something.
I have my dress alterations on Thursday, so it should be interesting to see how that goes. I (OK, mom and dad) bought my dress two days before I started NutriSystem. In hindsight, not so smart, but I honestly didn't even think about the wedding when I decided to start NS (sorry, Callie!). I tried on the dress yesterday and I'm not in horrible shape. It's definitely big, but they should be able to take it in (and up!) and because it's not strapless or anything, I don't have to worry about it falling down at the wedding--that would be bad! Also, I seem to have lost a lot of my weight in my waist, arms, and legs (my calves are pretty awesome in my new gold shoes!!!), so I'm still able to fill out the dress up top.
After the shoe-buying fun, Gatsby and I went on a walk/jog. We were gone for about 45 minutes and had a super time. We started out on the trails behind our house and then went "off road" on the other side of the neighborhood over an unpaved road and some empty lots, then we picked back up on another trail. We then went off trail again and cut through the woods back toward our house and then back home on another unpaved road. It was a lot of fun to be "cross country" and really helped keep my heart rate up during the walking parts. Gatsby had a ball! He loved jumping across creeks and diving under trees. When we came back, I was stretching and Gatsby did this:
And he's pretty much been sleeping all night. Great fun!
I had the NS Vegetarian Chili for dinner and it was horrible, so halfway through, I called an audible, trashed my dinner, and made a turkey and cheese wrap. SO much better! The bummer is that I have 2 more of this veggie chilis left--anybody want one? They're delicious!!
Brian's been volunteering at WCPE all day, so that's pretty much been it...
I didn't post a picture of me in the dress because, well, I don't want anyone other than family to see it before the wedding (yes, I know I'm not the bride!).
So, the wedding party consists of Callie and Clay (obviously), Callie's good friend Melissa, moi, Clay's good friend Jonathan (who is Melissa's boyfriend), and Brian. Well, Callie, Clay, Jonathan, and Brian are all tall. Melissa and me, not so much. So, I don't want to look like a midget and opted for heels. And, voila:
They are bangin' hot!!!!! I love them and, surprisingly, they're quite comfortable. They must fit my arch just right or something.
I have my dress alterations on Thursday, so it should be interesting to see how that goes. I (OK, mom and dad) bought my dress two days before I started NutriSystem. In hindsight, not so smart, but I honestly didn't even think about the wedding when I decided to start NS (sorry, Callie!). I tried on the dress yesterday and I'm not in horrible shape. It's definitely big, but they should be able to take it in (and up!) and because it's not strapless or anything, I don't have to worry about it falling down at the wedding--that would be bad! Also, I seem to have lost a lot of my weight in my waist, arms, and legs (my calves are pretty awesome in my new gold shoes!!!), so I'm still able to fill out the dress up top.
After the shoe-buying fun, Gatsby and I went on a walk/jog. We were gone for about 45 minutes and had a super time. We started out on the trails behind our house and then went "off road" on the other side of the neighborhood over an unpaved road and some empty lots, then we picked back up on another trail. We then went off trail again and cut through the woods back toward our house and then back home on another unpaved road. It was a lot of fun to be "cross country" and really helped keep my heart rate up during the walking parts. Gatsby had a ball! He loved jumping across creeks and diving under trees. When we came back, I was stretching and Gatsby did this:
And he's pretty much been sleeping all night. Great fun!
I had the NS Vegetarian Chili for dinner and it was horrible, so halfway through, I called an audible, trashed my dinner, and made a turkey and cheese wrap. SO much better! The bummer is that I have 2 more of this veggie chilis left--anybody want one? They're delicious!!
Brian's been volunteering at WCPE all day, so that's pretty much been it...
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Happy homeowners and a pair of jeans that fit just right...(for now)
So, my super-best-friend-in-the-entire-world, Shannon just realized that I had a blog. Yeah, maybe she's not such a super-best-friend-in-the-entire-world... ;-) Just kidding!
So, she was catching up on the last year of my life and I started reading back through old posts as well and came across the one where we picked our options for the house. The following is what we picked with my now-commentary in parentheses and brackets:
Gas log fireplace in the Great Room (very excellent decision; Gatsby also agrees)
Separate garden tub and shower in the Master Bath (I take at least 3 baths each week; so this was a must)
Kitchen island (I truly can't imagine not having it)
Faux-wood floors (laminate) in the dining room and front foyer (they look awesome, but they're a huge PITA to keep clean)
Garage door opener (isn't it lame that you have to pay for the opener and motor?!) What's the point of having a garage! [A definite good choice; it was nice to have it ready to go on day 1!]
Separate garden tub and shower in the Master Bath (I take at least 3 baths each week; so this was a must)
Kitchen island (I truly can't imagine not having it)
Faux-wood floors (laminate) in the dining room and front foyer (they look awesome, but they're a huge PITA to keep clean)
Garage door opener (isn't it lame that you have to pay for the opener and motor?!) What's the point of having a garage! [A definite good choice; it was nice to have it ready to go on day 1!]
Fluorescent light in the kitchen (Works very well and keeps the kitchen bright!)
Two exterior lights on each side of the garage door (Very nice for walking Lil G at night)
An elongated toilet seat in the Master Bath (Brian INSISTED!) [I notice no difference.]
Super quiet Whirlpool dishwasher (black) [If ours is quiet, then I can't imagine the "standard." Thank God for the 4 hour delay]
Whirlpool microwave hood over the stove (black) [Very nice to not have it taking up counter space.]
Smoothtop Whirlpool Stove (black) [Way hotter than old school-lame stoves.]
Side-by-side Whirlpool fridge (black) [We probably could have gotten a better deal from Best Buy with no-interest financing, but it was totally worth it not to have to worry about it when we were moving.]
Two exterior lights on each side of the garage door (Very nice for walking Lil G at night)
An elongated toilet seat in the Master Bath (Brian INSISTED!) [I notice no difference.]
Super quiet Whirlpool dishwasher (black) [If ours is quiet, then I can't imagine the "standard." Thank God for the 4 hour delay]
Whirlpool microwave hood over the stove (black) [Very nice to not have it taking up counter space.]
Smoothtop Whirlpool Stove (black) [Way hotter than old school-lame stoves.]
Side-by-side Whirlpool fridge (black) [We probably could have gotten a better deal from Best Buy with no-interest financing, but it was totally worth it not to have to worry about it when we were moving.]
We also had them put ceiling fan wiring in all four bedrooms, the great room, and the loft (We've put up fans in the master, 2 guest bedrooms, and great room and we're planning to do the loft ASAP.) and overhead lighting wires in the hall bathroom and living room (The light in the bathroom is phenomenal). We also put cable hookups in all four bedrooms, the loft, great room, and living room (which we're going to make an office) (Also a good purchase; I do wish we had added an electircal receptacle in our closet (for ironing and for our Christmas candles) and put a light hookup in over the sink].
So, in hindsight, I think we did pretty darn well. When I'm motivated, I'm going to pull out all the available options to see what we passed up and if we have any regrets on that front.
Last Monday, we went to Lowe's and bought a storm door and signed up to have them install it. So, on Thursday, Brian came home for an extended lunch and the guy installed the door. It is so fantastic. We are very excited about it. The way our house is laid out with the garage, there are only downstairs front windows in the study. So with the storm door we can have a lot more light at the front of the house. Gatsby wasn't sure about it at first, but now he likes being able to look out. It was a pretty good deal too. The door was like $189 and the installation was 15 percent off at $84; I think it looks more expensive than it cost.
While we were at Lowe's we also bought a nice pretty little plant that I put in a hanging basket on the front porch. It's very cute. I don't remember the flower names, but I'm sure they're something generic and they're purple and yellow. I'm going to try really hard not to kill them. We also made an impulse buy of a little doggie welcome statue. Serious cuteness. But Gatsby was a little freaked out by it at first.
Today, we were super homeowners and did our HOA duty and Brian mowed the lawn. While he did that, I pulled weeds out of all our plant beds. As I did that, I realized that our neighbors probably hated us because the pinestraw in our beds looked disastrous.
OK, I didn't really notice this today--I'm a copy editor, I can tell if a comma is set italic or roman; I notice things; I've actually been thinking about the pinestraw for like 4 months. So I decided that today was the day that we were going to add more pinestraw.
Eventually we want to relandscape some areas, but I don't think that's going to happen soon, so the pinestraw was an easy fix. We also wanted to get the blower attachment for the weed-eater and I wanted to find a weed spray that I could use in the plant beds.
So back to Lowe's we went. And, as a 1st time homeowner, I haven't had a lot of experience buying pinestraw, so I had no idea about the cost. So we ask this guy in lawn and garden and he says "three ninety seven" for a bale. So, I'm like "three hundred ninety seven dollars?" And the guy says "yeah"...and then laughs. But doesn't say anything else, so Brian and I walked off. As we were walking through the store, I was annoyed because I really wasn't sure if he meant $3.97 or $397. So as we were checking out, I asked the friendly cashier, who clarified $3.97 and we bought 3 bales. And when we got home, I spread out the pine straw (Brian had to go to hockey game). And then realized that I needed another bale for the area around our A/C compressors, so back to Lowe's I went (3rd time this week!) and bought my 4th bale.
The yard looks so lovely now. The grass is a nice lovely cut and the pine straw really spruced things up (pun intended)!
Oh, and we also hired a lawn service that will fertilize and do all that stuff that Brian and I know jack about. So our yard will probably look fair through this summer and then in the fall they will overseed everything, so hopefully by next spring, we'll be the best looking yard on the street.
OH! And, Brian and I are going to put in a patio. And, yes, we're going to do it ourselves. We're not sure yet when, but hopefully very soon while the weather is still lovely; basically, as soon as we find an awesome weather weekend where we'll both be free all weekend. It will be 12'x10'8" and will be behind our "great room." We are very excited about it.
I'm also reworking the design of my genealogy page on my Web site, so as soon as I get it looking decent, I'll post the link. I'm basically taking my ENG 575 research and taking out all the literature references and adding more info about any other ancestors I can find...
And, finally, I have another new pair of jeans. Vive la Walmart! My most recent pair of Walmart jeans looked really bad because the hips kept sagging down and looked silly, so I am down another size. YAY!
Thursday, April 2, 2009
"Every action which has ever taken place--every thought, ...
every emotion--has taken place only once, at one moment in time and place. 'I love you.' 'I rejoice.' 'I suffer,' have been said and felt billions of times, and never twice the same. Every person who has ever lived has lived an unbroken succession of unique occasions."
- Thornton Wilder
This is probably one of my most favorite quotations of all time. I came across it in the program for the play "Our Town," which my friend Shannon and I saw at UNC-CH a few years ago.
I love it because it's incredibly true! This past weekend, we had a fantastic bridal shower for Callie. She got lots of cool stuff and we had a great time with family and friends.
Mom, Callie, and I stayed at my nanny's (grandmother's) house and Saturday night we all stayed up until midnight looking through two boxes of my nanny's old pictures. I mean like REALLY old pictures. There were lots of my mom, Aunt Dianne, and Uncle Danny (OK, a lot more of Danny than the other two, but he was the first child and that's just how it goes!), but there were a billion more pictures of my nanny and papaw's wedding and pictures of their parents. There was one incredible picture of my great-grandmother's family portrait when my great-grandmother was probably 6-8 years old (she was born in 1908 and just passed away last April--2 months shy of her 100th birthday) and another really cool picture of my papaw and my great-grandmother when my papaw was a newborn. And so many more! My nanny gave me 3 pictures and my mom took home a folder-full, so the next time I am in Ocean, I am going to scan the ones that mom took. The three that I was given are online at
http://picasaweb.google.com/lsleblanc82/FamilyPhotos.
I am absolutely mesmerized by photographs. I could literally stare at them for hours on end. I just think that they are incredible. It's so amazing to think about who all the people are and that there's a snapshot of finite moment in time and what that person was doing that very specific moment and then I love to think about everything else that the person did in life. One the pictures that I was given was of my nanny and papaw when my papaw was stationed with the army in Florida (prior to going to Germany for World War II ) and my nanny was still in high school and went to visit him:
They are absolutely the cutest couple on the planet and were for their 50+ years of marriage. I know that y'all won't believe me, but if they ever had a fight, no one else on the planet knows about it.
A couple of years ago, I got really interested in genealogy and started researching my family tree. I was very lucky to find a lot of information that allowed me to trace my lineage back pretty far. In fact, on my dad's side of the family, I can trace one line back to the year 1090 in England (seriously!). Genealogy on the Internet is fascinating because once you can trace your lineage back a few generations you can usually use names to link up with other genealogists who have done other research and then piggyback on their research. Of course, there's always a chance that something could be wrong, but you do the best you can.
My online version of my family tree is at
http://www.gribblenation.com/personal/laura/eng575/Genealogy/default.htm.
Unfortunately, you can't see the actual "tree" unless you download special software, but the HTML output is pretty cool too. And when I was in grad school, I took a Southern Writers class and I was able to use my genealogy research for my final project, in which I took a few people in my lineage and did a bit more research into their lives:
http://www.gribblenation.com/personal/laura/eng575/projectindex.htm.
It's all pretty interesting. My mom's family has lived in Catawba County since sometime before 1790 and another genealogist was able to find wills and ship manifests and other primary sources, which she let me incorporate into my Web site. If you're bored, you might find it interesting--just ignore the Southern literature analyses and any typos (I did a lot of the writeup over the course of 48 hours, so there's probably some issues!)
I really need to get back into more research--it's incredible.
I think what fascinates me the most about it is that if just one of my ancestors made a different choice and married someone different or never mate his or her mate, I (and LOTS of other people) would have never existed. Pretty crazy!
In fact, so interesting that I thought about it all the way to work this morning and I was thinking so hard that I completely missed the exit for work and had to drive down to 15-501 to turn around!!! :-)
Oops.
- Thornton Wilder
This is probably one of my most favorite quotations of all time. I came across it in the program for the play "Our Town," which my friend Shannon and I saw at UNC-CH a few years ago.
I love it because it's incredibly true! This past weekend, we had a fantastic bridal shower for Callie. She got lots of cool stuff and we had a great time with family and friends.
Mom, Callie, and I stayed at my nanny's (grandmother's) house and Saturday night we all stayed up until midnight looking through two boxes of my nanny's old pictures. I mean like REALLY old pictures. There were lots of my mom, Aunt Dianne, and Uncle Danny (OK, a lot more of Danny than the other two, but he was the first child and that's just how it goes!), but there were a billion more pictures of my nanny and papaw's wedding and pictures of their parents. There was one incredible picture of my great-grandmother's family portrait when my great-grandmother was probably 6-8 years old (she was born in 1908 and just passed away last April--2 months shy of her 100th birthday) and another really cool picture of my papaw and my great-grandmother when my papaw was a newborn. And so many more! My nanny gave me 3 pictures and my mom took home a folder-full, so the next time I am in Ocean, I am going to scan the ones that mom took. The three that I was given are online at
http://picasaweb.google.com/lsleblanc82/FamilyPhotos.
I am absolutely mesmerized by photographs. I could literally stare at them for hours on end. I just think that they are incredible. It's so amazing to think about who all the people are and that there's a snapshot of finite moment in time and what that person was doing that very specific moment and then I love to think about everything else that the person did in life. One the pictures that I was given was of my nanny and papaw when my papaw was stationed with the army in Florida (prior to going to Germany for World War II ) and my nanny was still in high school and went to visit him:
They are absolutely the cutest couple on the planet and were for their 50+ years of marriage. I know that y'all won't believe me, but if they ever had a fight, no one else on the planet knows about it.
A couple of years ago, I got really interested in genealogy and started researching my family tree. I was very lucky to find a lot of information that allowed me to trace my lineage back pretty far. In fact, on my dad's side of the family, I can trace one line back to the year 1090 in England (seriously!). Genealogy on the Internet is fascinating because once you can trace your lineage back a few generations you can usually use names to link up with other genealogists who have done other research and then piggyback on their research. Of course, there's always a chance that something could be wrong, but you do the best you can.
My online version of my family tree is at
http://www.gribblenation.com/personal/laura/eng575/Genealogy/default.htm.
Unfortunately, you can't see the actual "tree" unless you download special software, but the HTML output is pretty cool too. And when I was in grad school, I took a Southern Writers class and I was able to use my genealogy research for my final project, in which I took a few people in my lineage and did a bit more research into their lives:
http://www.gribblenation.com/personal/laura/eng575/projectindex.htm.
It's all pretty interesting. My mom's family has lived in Catawba County since sometime before 1790 and another genealogist was able to find wills and ship manifests and other primary sources, which she let me incorporate into my Web site. If you're bored, you might find it interesting--just ignore the Southern literature analyses and any typos (I did a lot of the writeup over the course of 48 hours, so there's probably some issues!)
I really need to get back into more research--it's incredible.
I think what fascinates me the most about it is that if just one of my ancestors made a different choice and married someone different or never mate his or her mate, I (and LOTS of other people) would have never existed. Pretty crazy!
In fact, so interesting that I thought about it all the way to work this morning and I was thinking so hard that I completely missed the exit for work and had to drive down to 15-501 to turn around!!! :-)
Oops.
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